But the man who scored the winner against Slovenia in the 2010 World Cup finals reckons he'll need more Premier League game time to cement his place should the Three Lions book their ticket to Brazil.

“To get into the squad that goes to a major tournament, you have got to be playing for your club,” said the striker, who turns 31 on Monday.

“It is great to score in those cup competitions, but I feel you have got to be scoring in the Premier League.

(Image: Michael Regan)

“As you can imagine, it is very frustrating – especially after I worked so hard in pre-season and telling people I feel sharper and stronger than ever.

“That has shown in my games. I feel sharp and I have got my goals. I don’t know what more I could do really.

“Saying that, if I was a young player, people would say, ‘He needs to prove himself in the Premier League.’ But I don’t think, at my age, I have got anything to prove.

“Obviously you have a word with the manager. I speak to Andre and stuff like that. But I have got to play – it is a World Cup year.

“I am fit and feel sharper than ever but I don’t want to be saying things or knocking on the manager’s door all the time, all I do is do my talking out there [on the pitch].

“Even though I have not started a game in the Premier League yet, there is such a long way to go and a lot of games to play.”

Defoe has 12 England goals in 22 starts – including a double against San Marino in March – and 19 in his 54 caps.

He has made a record 33 of those appearances from the bench.

(Image: Scott Heavey)

Under Villas-Boas, he has scored 22 goals in 38 starts – including two against former club West Ham last season – but only netted once in 13 as a sub.

“Scoring goals is the answer,” Defoe continued. “Whenever I go out there, I have got to show the manager what I can do and that I am confident and scoring goals.

“That is what I am in the team for - that is my job.”

Tottenham return to Premier League action in third place, after taking 13 points from their first six games.

“The start has been good, but it will be excellent if we manage to win against West Ham,” said Villas-Boas.

“The October fixtures are a little bit easier for us and there is no difficult trip to a big team so we would like to progress from then on.”

The increasingly confident Tottenham boss also slapped down Vlad Chiriches' agent Victor Becali, who claimed the Romanian defender - only signed five weeks ago - will move to Chelsea if he is successful at White Hart Lane.

“Obviously, the comments are completely disproportionate and out of reality,” he said.

“I have spoken to the player, told the player to speak to his agent, and we have acted accordingly. We consider ourselves a big club - we’re not a stepping stone to anybody.”